hanging drywall on ceiling

[marklevinson1]

Hi, I'm back with another question.

I am getting ready to hang the drywall on the ceiling this weekend. The dimensions of the ceiling are 12 x 17. Here is how the joists run:

http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/plans/ceiling.html

and these are the full plans:

http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/plans/plans.html

I am doing this completely by myself and will be renting a drywall jack. Now if I run 4 x 8 sheets across the joists starting with a full sheet on one end I end up with a foot wide area left over. How much do 4 x 10 sheets weigh? Hey, I think I might have answered my own question. What would be the best way to approach this job based on my ceiling dimensions?

thanks,

Mark

[marklevinson1]

Hi,

Just realized something else. I still need to deal with the opening into the kitchen which adds another 4 - 5 inches into the mix. You can see it on the plans at the lower left side.

http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/plans/plans.html

http://www.patmedia.net/marklevinson/plans/ceiling.html

thanks,

Mark

[master plumber mark]

Personally ,
I would rather have the crap beat out of me
than try to hang drywall on the ceiling ....by myself....

even with a drywall jack its still tons of
fun and it still has to be finished too.....

it looks like you have a pretty good idea of
what you got to do ,

but considering the strain and possibility of
hurting yourslef,


have you even considered estimates??


either way, have a great weekend.

[leejosepho]

For various reasons related to seams and fastening, the drywall should be put up perpendicular to the joists. Do some corner-to-corner measuring and use string to check your long walls for straight, then try to begin in the corner that is the most square to the longest/straightest wall after snapping a chalk line as a guide from one end of the room to the other without ever getting closer to the wall than 48".

12' sheets would be your best bet, since 1-1/2 sheets will cover your 17' length with only one butt joint, and you can stagger those butt joints by beginning your center row with half of a sheet (6', or wherever you find a joist near that dimension).

12' sheets might sound scary, but I have hung them by myself (in my much-younger days!) using only a "T", and your use of a jack should make that job simple.

[TedL]

4x8 half inch panels run appx. 55 -60 lbs., so a ten footer is 1.25 times that. When I did my kitchen I used 14 footers, three guys, no lift. Use a ten and an eight for each row, and stagger the joints. While I generally agree with Lee's points above, I don't see any benefit to using 1.5 twelves instead of a 10 and an 8.

Resist the temptation to eliminate butt joints by running the panels parallel to the joists.

I don't agree with Mark as to how miserable the work is, but this will be a very visible project, and you want it to look right. If you don't get there after four or five coats, consider having a pro do a final coat or two to make it right.

A few things to keep in mind:

- Use paper tape - - I've had the fiberglass mesh show cracks.
- Add less joint compound, not more. It's much, much easier to go back and add more/fill in than it is to sand off extra. For the early coats, accept some low spots.
- Pros can get a quality finish in three coats. I've reached the point where I can do butt joints in four coats, tapered edges and corners in three.
- Have a continous surface 18 - 24 inches high (assuming 8 ft. ceiling) that you can walk on the full length of a panel. If nothing else, knock something together from 2x4s.
- After you think it's "good", prime and check it again. You can still correct problems and spot prime over them.
- The "dustless" sanders that are appx. $20 and hook up to a shop vac are worth many times their cost.

[leejosepho]

I don't see any benefit to using 1.5 twelves instead of a 10 and an 8.

I first learned drywall in new construction where we did the entire ceiling before any interior walls were present, and 12s were all we ever used. But, 18' is 18', eh?!

[TedL]

Absolutely. My leaning toward the 10 and 8 was to use the smallest size/weight while still staying with 2 pieces instead of 3.